I hope you all had a great Christmas. It was certainly a wintry week, but a very pretty one. The ice covered world, uh, gorgeous! Then add the dusting of powdery snow atop that glittering crystal, ah-ma-zing. I know all my photog friends were outside snapping up a storm. This Christmas I was not able to travel to Alberta to visit Jas and my family, so I snuggled in at my parents for a very, very quiet Christmas. With my siblings living in other States and Countries (and Jas living in Alberta), it means that holiday’s usually are just my parents and I. This December, my mom and I put up the Christmas tree, with a few hilarious hiccups along the way, decorated the house in enough pine boughs to make you think you were walking through a forest, and had Peter, Paul and Mary’s Christmas Album playing loud enough for even the smallest creature outside the house to hear.

With December drawing to a close and Christmas Decorations being taken down, and a New Year just within reach, I am reminded that each moment is special, no matter how quiet and small, as long as I spend it with those I love.

This Christmas season, my mom and I dragged in our massive Christmas tree from outside and in the process, we lost a few branches. Instead of throwing them away, I decided to take the 4 branches and multiply them into enough boughs to cover our entire house (and presents) in fresh, lovely smelling pine. Below, you will see the simple directions to make boughs that you can hang anywhere from your front door to the back of chairs, and many places in between.

1. Select your branches: I chose 3 different types of evergreens for a total of 8 branches.

2. Arrange your branches: I chose the biggest branch and placed the smaller branches on top of it, trimming away excess.

3. Wrap your branches: I wrapped the ends of the branches where they are gathered together with florist wire and then florist tape. Wrap enough of both so that the branches are secure.

4. Tie a bow: I chose to wrap a red satin ribbon around the ends, but you can use anything you want.

5. Place your bough: Depending on the size of your bough, you can hang it on your front door, on the back of chairs, on the wall, on Christmas presents.

I feel like December snuck up on me, completely out of nowhere and hit me over the head. Bam. Last night I was frantically researching easy Christmas cookie recipes, wrapping presents (yes, I have almost all my Christmas shopping done, with gifts en route to Denver and Reno as we speak), and looking over my notes for my final wedding of 2013. A few days ago I finally had time to try my hand at decorating a mug with a sharpie (I’ve only seen a million tutorials on Pinterest). The perfectionist in me probably made it a hundred times harder than it should have been, but two hours later I had my decorated mug. Will I ever use it? Never. Can you imagine if the gold started to wear off? I would probably cry.

This past weekend I was gifted a lovely bouquet of flowers from a very dear family. When I got home, as I was unwrapping the cellophane, I noticed a few stems didn’t have blooms, while others were a little smushed. The not-so-lovely side of buying flowers that are all pre-picked at the store for you. So, I tromped outside into my snowy yard and cut a few branches of leaves and greenery, and rescued this sweet little bouquet. See, you can make a grocery store bouquet look lovely!

With that said, I hope you all enjoy this beautiful, wintery week. And may all your days be merry and bright.

http://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/logo-pink-1024x919.png00Jessica Swagmanhttp://jsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/logo-pink-1024x919.pngJessica Swagman2013-12-10 20:55:062013-12-20 22:58:01It's the Most Wonderful Time